y 


Austria 

and 

America 


By  Rev.  John  S.  Porter 

of  Prague 


REPRINTED  FROM  THE  ENVELOPE  SERIES  FOR 
JANUARY,  1918 


THE  AMERICAN  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS 
FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


14  BEACON  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


ifamuorli 


The  smallest  of  the  American  Board  Mis¬ 
sions  is  that  to  Austria,  with  one  station  and 
two  missionary  families.  But  from  that  one 
station,  Prague,  and  under  the  guidance  of 
these  few  missionaries  have  gone  forth  evan¬ 
gelical  influences  that  have  reached  many 
centers  in  Bohemia,  Moravia,  Silesia  and 
even  in  Russian  Poland. 

Moreover,  this  mission  has  done  a  large 
service  to  the  United  States  through  its  con¬ 
tributions  to  the  life  of  the  Bohemian  peo¬ 
ple  of  this  country. 

No  mission  of  the  Board  has  been  more 
directly  affected  by  the  war  or  more  heavily 
hit  by  it  than  this  to  Austria.  The  story  of 
its  experiences  in  these  war  times  is  full  of 
interest  and  appeal.  Mr.  Porter  has  writ¬ 
ten  of  it  as  an  eye  witness  and  a  fellow  suf¬ 
ferer  with  the  people  of  those  stricken 
churches. 

w.  e.  s. 


Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Boston,  Mass.,  as  second-class  matter. 
The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  14  Beacon 
Street,  Boston,  Mass.  Annual  subscription,  ten  (10)  cents. 


Austria  and  America 

By  Rev.  John  S.  Porter,  of  Prague 


The  War  in  Embryo. 

“Bohemian  Paradise”  so-called  was  our  outing  place  for 
the  summer  of  1914.  There  we  heard  the  first  mutterings 
of  war.  We  went  down  the  hill  to  see  the  trainloads  of 
soldiers  going  to  the  front.  The  little  city  nearby  quickly 
filled  with  uniforms.  Schools  and  other  public  buildings 
were  suddenly  overflowing  with  soldiers  whose  temporary 
beds  were  simply  a  little  straw  laid  on  the  floors.  Portable 
war-kitchens,  military  wagons  and  horses  were  every¬ 
where.  All  incoming  trains  brought  new  men  reporting 
for  duty.  All  was  confusion  and  excitement. 

Prague,  our  home,  was  only  eighty  miles  or  thereabouts 
distant  and  was  ordinarily  reached  in  upwards  of  three 
hours.  It  then  seemed  five  hundred  miles  away.  Duty 
called  me  thither  almost  every  week’s  end ;  and  once  I 
rode  all  night  on  the  return  trip  from  Prague.  I  was 
glad,  indeed,  even  thus  to  reach  the  place  of  our  summer 
sojourn.  To  avoid  the  possible  throwing  of  bombs  from 
the  train  all  windows  were  ordered  closed  as  we  ap¬ 
proached  bridges  and  tunnels.  Tearful  and  heart-break¬ 
ing  good  byes  were  the  order  of  the  day.  People  were 
afraid  for  their  hoarded  savings  in  banks.  Uncertainty 
was  in  the  air.  We  began  to  understand  the  meaning  of 
war. 

3 


September  found  us  all  again  in  Prague.  Some  of  our 
fellow  members  in  the  church  had  already  left  for  the 
front;  others  were  going.  From  our  windows  we  could 
see  soldiers  drilling  in  four  different  places.  We  heard 


the  “pop  pop”  of  the  machine  guns  in  drill  practice.  The 
“golden  city  of  Prague”  that  has  witnessed  so  many  bloody 
wars  was  again  alive  with  soldiers,  munitions,  implements 


4 


of  warfare,  and  military  supplies.  Patriotic  pictures,  war 
maps  and  illustrated  postal  cards  grew  in  the  windows 
like  mushrooms.  Every  mail  brought  new  problems. 
Preachers  were  leaving  for  war  camps.  Money  was  not 
easily  forthcoming.  Checks  from  foreign  countries  could 
not  be  cashed.  Bills  must  for  a  time  remain  unpaid. 
People  were  laying  in  supplies  of  all  kinds.  Without 
leaving  our  home  we  could  see  the  soldiers  marching  to  the 
sound  of  music  toward  the  railway  station  to  fill  the  long 
lines  of  waiting  transports. 

And  the  war  was  still  in  swaddling  clothes  when  the 
same  cars  come  back  from  the  front  with  sick,  mutilated 
and  dying  humanity.  Our  fair  city  to  quote  a  newspaper, 
seemed  “one  huge  hospital.”  From  time  to  time  many 
of  our  street  cars  put  on  the  Red  Cross  instead  of  their 
usual  designation  and  helped  carry  the  sick  and  wounded 
to  nurses  and  doctors. 

Later  came  the  drafts,  ever  more  inclusive,  until  all 
from  eighteen  to  fifty  years  of  age  capable  of  military 
duty  had  been  pronounced  “tauglich,”  “serviceable”  and 
had  left.  The  men’s  side  in  many  of  our  chapels  was  al¬ 
most  vacant.  All  sorts  of  adjustments  were  made  to 
keep  up  our  usual  quota  of  services  in  the  absence  of  one- 
half  of  our  preachers.  For  in  war,  if  ever,  the  regular 
ministrations  of  the  gospel  are  needed. 

The  Question  of  Food. 

Supplies  came  gradually  to  be  the  prevailing  subject 
of  conversation.  People  bought  what  they  could,  where 
they  could  and  as  much  as  they  could.  For  a  time  salt 


5 


% 


was  more  than  a  luxury.  Bread  tickets  and  other  tickets 
came  into  vogue.  We  studied  attentively  the  public  sign 
boards  to  find  when  those  under  our  house  number  could 
purchase  potatoes  of  the  city. 

And  here  is  a  long  line  of  men  and  women.  What 
does  it  mean?  They  are  waiting  for  kerosene  oil.  Farth¬ 
er  along,  the  street  is  black  with  a  crowd  arranged  by 
policemen  in  ranks  of  four.  They  are  waiting  for  milk. 
Similar  lines  stand  for  hours  to  buy  a  little  sugar,  tobacco 
or  soap.  Coal,  too,  is  very  scarce.  The  country  is 
settling  down  to  grim  war.  Refugees  from  Galicia, 
Bukovina  and  elsewhere  are  being  brought  in  to  help  les¬ 
sen  the  supplies  for  our  homes.  Some  school  buildings 
are  given  up  entirely  to  the  wounded  and  sick  soldiers. 
Others  are  doing  double  duty,  that  all  the  children  may 
have  school  privileges.  Canes  and  crutches  appear  in 
ever-increasing  numbers  on  our  streets.  War  is  with  us. 
We  hope  his  stay  will  be  short. 

Whomever  we  meet  and  wherever  we  meet,  war  and 
supplies  are  the  theme  of  conversation.  New  foods  are 
introduced.  We  hear  of  new  ways  of  cooking.  An 
American  paper  that  “gets  through”  has  recipes.  “Sev¬ 
enteen  ways  of  cooking — .”  Some  one  remarks  “yes; 
seventeen  ways  of  cooking  what  you  haven’t  got.”  We 
learn  that  a  farmer  friend  will  sell  us  some  flour.  We 
make  the  long  journey,  willing  indeed  to  take  time  and 
spend  money  to  increase  our  store  of  supplies.  Some  one 
from  the  country,  sends  us  a  ten  pound  loaf  of  rye  bread. 
It  is  better  than  gold. 


6 


War  Ministrations. 


But  the  days  pass  quickly.  Our  hands  are  full  of  work. 
Soldiers  everywhere  need  a  word  of  encouragement. 
Widows  and  lonely  families  crave  a  call.  Notes  of  sym¬ 
pathy  must  often  go  here  and  there,  as  news  comes  of  the 
wounded,  sick,  missing  and  dead.  Letters  come  from 
our  men  at  the  front  and  elsewhere  asking  for  testaments 
and  gospels  in  different  languages  for  comrades.  And 
the  city  hospitals  and  lazarettoes  have  ever  some  of  our 
soldiers  that  need  cheer.  Pastors  and  others  from  the 
country  unite  asking  us  to  visit  members  and  friends  in 
Prague  hospitals.  And  with  so  many  ministers  in  the 
war,  there  are  many  and  urgent  calls  to  preach  near  and 
far,  to  baptize  and  to  administer  the  Lord’s  Supper.  And 
never  was  there  a  more  hearty  response  to  the  gospel 
message.  Soldiers  on  furlough  are  present.  Others 
quartered  nearby  for  a  time  are  invited.  Often  men  come 
in  who  speak  a  strange  tongue  to  whom  we  can  minister 
only  by  a  handshake  and  by  the  message  that  love  com¬ 
municates  without  the  use  of  words.  Some  that  long  ago 
heard  the  gospel  and  remained  careless  or  became  hard¬ 
ened  are  now  driven  by  the  exigencies  of  the  war  to  God. 

Never  were  we  happier  in  the  Lord’s  work;  and  never 
seemingly  more  needed.  Then  came  the  diplomatic 
break  between  Austria  and  America.  There  was  a 
hurried  consultation  resulting  in  a  decision  to  leave  with 
the  American  Embassy.  A  few  last  things  were  done. 
Our  faithful  maid  promised  to  do  all  that  we  could  not. 
She  is  to  be  trusted  fully  to  wisely  distribute  our  supplies, 


so  laboriously  gathered  and  carefully  hoarded,  to  the 
needy  in  the  church.  She  will  occasionally  air  our  apart¬ 
ment  and  serve  elsewhere  until  we  return.  Our  land¬ 
lord,  an  American  Bohemian,  is  perfectly  willing  to  wait 
for  rent  until  the  war  is  over.  And  within  thirty-six 
hours  after  we  really  know  we  are  going,  we  are  on  the 
train  for  Vienna.  We  are  off — can  it  be ! — Off  for  Ameri¬ 
ca  ! 

Austria  Breaks  With  America. 

Austria  severed  diplomatic  relations  with  America  at 
Easter  time,  1917.  And  America  declared  war  on  Austria 
almost  exactly  eight  months  later.  Few  words  suffice  to 
tell  all  this.  And  yet  these  acts  have  had,  and  doubtless 
will  still  have,  far-reaching  results. 

One  of  the  immediate  results  of  the  diplomatic  break, 
was  the  special  train  chartered  by  the  Foreign  Department 
of  the  Austrian  government,  which  steamed  out  of  the 
South  Station  in  Vienna,  April  fourteenth  of  this  year, 
with  sixty-seven  Americans  on  board.  Members  of  the 
American  Embassy,  consuls  of  the  United  States  and 
their  families  from  all  parts  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Empire,  physicians,  Red  Cross  nurses,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work¬ 
ers,  a  representative  of  the  Associated  Press,  and  the  two 
missionary  families  of  the  American  Board  made  up  the 
party. 

As  the  train  was  leaving  the  station,  there  was  subdued 
cheering  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  the  Americans,  who 
were  so  suddenly  leaving  homes  and  work.  Farther 
down  the  platform  stood  a  group  of  Austrian  officials, 


8 


grim,  non-committal,  with  their  black  and  silver  uniforms. 

What  thoughts  were  in  the  minds  of  the  people  on  the 
cars?  And  of  what  were  those  thinking  who  were  left 
behind  ?  Who  can  tell  ? 

Work  in  Austria. 

It  is  now  just  forty-five  years  since  our  missionaries 
made  their  first  acquaintance  with  the  people  of  Austria. 
The  work  was  begun  in  both  the  northern  and  southern 
provinces.  Gradually,  however,  it  has  been  confined  more 
to  Bohemia  and  Moravia  at  the  north,  although  the  work 
in  the  south  has  never  been  abandoned.  Hence,  our  cen¬ 
ter  is  the  hundred-towered,  golden  Prague,  “the  Rome 
of  the  north,”  the  capital  of  Bohemia,  a  city  with  suburbs 
of  nearly  five  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 

Austria  is  a  papal  country.  Upwards  of  ninety  per  cent, 
of  the  people  are  more  or  less — many  of  them  less — con¬ 
nected  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Infidelity  is 
rampant.  Formalism  is  everywhere.  Immorality  blights. 
Beggary  flourishes.  Truth  telling  is  all  too  rare.  The 
Bible  is  little  known.  The  people  are  “dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins.” 

And  yet  it  was  not  always  thus.  We  think  at  once  of 
John  Huss,  the  great  Bohemian  reformer  and  martyr, 
who  was  burned  at  the  stake  in  Constance,  Germany,  in 
1415.  Luther,  one  hundred  years  later,  bore  him  this 
testimony,  “In  my  opinion”  said  he,  “John  Huss  bought 
with  his  own  blood  the  gospel  which  we  now  possess.” 
D’Aubigne  calls  Huss  “the  John  the  Baptist  of  the  Refor¬ 
mation.”  He  was  surely  “a  burning  and  a  shining  light.” 


9 


Execution  of  Nobles, 


His  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  Rhine ;  but  his  spirit  still 
lives  in  Bohemia,  and  in  the  world. 

Bohemia,  the  birthplace  of  Huss  is  a  land  of  martyrs. 
Even  Armenia  cannot  excel  Bohemia,  with  its  long  and 
shining  list  of  those  who  have  suffered  exile  and  martyr¬ 
dom  for  their  faith.  We  in  America  are  soon  to  celebrate 
the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  the  Pil¬ 
grims.  Bohemia  lost  her  freedom  just  after  the  Pilgrims 
set  foot  on  American  soil.  Her  nobles  were  executed  on 
the  Public  Square  in  Prague.  The  flower  of  her  people 
went  into  exile  or  perished.  The  Bible  was  a  forbidden 
book.  The  pall  of  Romanism  fell  upon  the  land.  And 
for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  Rome  has  held  undisputed 
sway  in  Bohemia  as  well  as  in  Austria. 

Bohemia  lost  her  freedom  three  hundred  years  ago.  A 
longing  for  liberty  has  burned  in  the  hearts  of  Bohemians 
for  all  these  succeeding  years,  and  centuries.  And  no 
wonder  there  is  a  hope  that  out  of  this  world  conflagration 
may  come  again  a  day  of  rejoicing  to  Bohemia,  the  heart 
of  Central  Europe. 

Neither  the  American  Board  nor  its  missionaries  go  any¬ 
where  to  mix  in  politics,  national  differences  or  animosities. 
We  go  to  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified  and  risen  again. 
Such  has  been  our  aim  and  purpose  in  Austria. '  We  would 
simply  help  Christ  carry  out  his  program  of  love  and  mercy 
as  he  himself  proclaimed  it. 

The  Breaking  of  the  Storm. 

And  the  “gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation”  in 
Austria  even  in  war  time.  The  war  came  suddenly,  al¬ 
ii 


though  long  presaged.  The  storm  burst  upon  us  with  aw¬ 
ful  fury.  People  awoke  that  Sunday  morning,  July  26, 
1914,  to  rush  to  bill  boards  to  learn  if  their  regiments  or 
those  of  near  relatives  were  already  mobilized.  I  bap¬ 
tized  that  morning  the  sixth  child  of  one  of  our  Prague 
families.  The  father  went  immediately  after  the  service 
to  join  his  regiment.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
I  preached  in  another  of  our  four  Prague  churches.  On 
the  way  down  in  the  street  car,  I  met  one  of  our  members 
who  was  leaving  his  wife  and  seven  small  children.  He 
had  his  Bible  open  even  as  he  sat  there  in  the  car,  to  the 
ninety-first  Psalm.  As  he  read,  “I  will  say  of  Jehovah, 
He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress,  my  God  in  whom  I 
trust,”  he  rested  down  on  his  God  and  was  calm  and  con¬ 
fident.  I  have  never  seen  a  more  quiet  trust  in  God.  That 
picture  has  strengthened  me  during  all  the  months  of  the 
war. 

We  used  to  sing  with  our  soldiers  as  they  were  to  leave 
us : 

“The  Lord’s  my  rock;  in  him  I'll  trust. 

A  shelter  in  the  time  of  storm.” 

We  prayed  with  them.  According  to  Bohemian  custom, 
we  kissed  them  good  bye.  And  away  they  went  in  the 
strength  the  Lord  Christ  gives.  In  their  breast  pockets 
they  carried  at  least  a  Testament  for  their  daily  food. 
And  often  they  had  in  their  knapsacks,  gospels  and  tracts 
for  their  comrades.  For  they  went  also  as  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ. 


12 


Trial  of  John  Huss 


From  the  Birthplace  of  John  Huss. 

We  have  spoken  of  John  Huss  who  laid  down  his  life 
on  a  battlefield  where  the  forces  of  the  Church  and  State 
were  arrayed  against  him.  Not  far  from  his  birthplace, 
some  years  ago,  a  boy  was  born  of  humble  Christian 
parents.  He  travelled  the  same  long  road  to  school  as  did 
Huss.  After  studying  in  Germany  and  completing  his 
theological  course  in  Scotland,  he  was  finishing  the  re¬ 
quired  year  of  military  duty  and  anticipating  the  active 
work  of  the  ministry,  when  the  outbreak  of  the  war  forced 
him  into  the  army  as  an  officer.  He  was  twice  severely 
wounded,  once  on  the  Serbian,  and  again  on  the  Russian 
fronts.  He  has  risen  in  rank.  His  breast  is  adorned 
with  medals.  We  are  still  hoping  that  he  will  survive  the  * 
war  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  to  his  fellow-men  as  did 
Huss. 

Another  young  man,  born  in  the  same  town  as  Huss, 
was  in  Russian  Poland  preaching  the  gospel,  when  the  war 
came.  His  lot  was  that  of  all  the  other  Austrian  subjects 
in  that  section  of  Russia.  He  was  interned  in  faraway 
Siberia,  while  his  wife  and  child  were  left  behind.  He  is 
doubtless  a  center  of  light  in  that  great  land. 

And  still  another  from  the  birthplace  of  Huss  deserves 
mention.  He  moved  thither  from  a  nearby  town  for  the 
express  purpose  of  hearing  the  gospel.  He  soon  accepted 
Christ;  was  drafted  a  few  months  later  and  went  to 
the  front.  Everything  has  seemed  against  him,  even  wife 
and  relatives.  He  was  weak  in  body,  often  sick  and  worn. 
The  Church  and  the  One  “that  sticketh  closer  than  a  broth- 


14 


er,”  stood  by  him,  and  he  has  been  a  “faithful  witness” 
everywhere.  I  found  him  in  the  hospital  trying  his  best 
to  communicate  his  joy  in  Christ  to  the  Hungarian  soldier 
who  lay  on  the  next  cot.  If  you  could  have  seen  his  face 
as  I  gave  him  a  pocket  Bible  that  he  could  hardly  buy  for 
himself ! 

Spreading  One  Good  Seed. 

Our  people  were  planning  even  before  the  war,  to  cele¬ 
brate  the  five  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  martyrdom 
of  Huss.  We  hoped  as  a  part  of  such  celebration  to  carry 
the  gospel  in  some  way  to  all  parts  of  Bohemia  and 
Moravia.  But  the  war  came.  Our  .hopes  seemed  blasted, 
but  God  answered  our  prayers  better  than  we  even 
dreamed.  Men  even  from  the  very  birthplace  of  Huss, 
have  carried  the  gospel  all  up  and  down  Austria  and  across 
Russia  into  Siberia. 

And  not  only  the  aforementioned,  but  many  others  of 
our  upwards  of  two  thousand  members  of  American  Board 
churches  have  helped  carry  the  gospel  throughout  Austria. 
And  as  war-captives  in  Russia,  Italy,  Servia  and  other 
parts  of  Europe,  they  have  done  far  more  for  Christ  than 
we  could  have  imagined. 

Soldiers  from  all  parts  of  Bohemia,  even  from  the  re¬ 
motest  hamlets,  were  mustered  into  service  in  Prague  and 
other  centers  where  they  were  given  gospels  and  Testa¬ 
ments  by  their  fellow-soldiers  or  by  Christian  workers 
who  came  in  contact  with  them  in  hospitals,  barracks,  or 
on  the  street.  There  has  never  been  any  such  dissemina¬ 
tion  of  the  good  seed  of  the  Kingdom  possible  in  Austria, 


15 


as  has  been  seen  during  the  war.  Doors,  long  shut  tight 
and  fast,  have  all  at  once  opened  to  the  gospel  of  the 
printed  page;  and  also  to  living  testimony  from  God’s 
children.  Again  and  again  have  we  received  letters  from 
our  soldiers  asking  for  copies  of  the  Scriptures  in  va¬ 
rious  languages  for  comrades  in  arms. 

One  of  our  colporteurs  conceived  an  unusual  plan  of 
action.  He  obtained  a  permit  for  two  weeks,  the  like  of 
which  had  never  before  been  granted  in  Austria;  viz.  to 
sell  and  give  away  gospels  and  Testaments  on  the  mili¬ 
tary  trains  that  passed  through  the  railway  center,  where 
he  had  his  home.  The  long  trains  to  and  from  the  front 
halted  there  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time.  The  Red  Cross 
workers  went  through  the  cars  with  hot  tea  and  coffee. 
Right  behind  them  was  the  messenger  of  the  Cross  of 
Christ  with  the  Word  of  Life.  Eager  hands  of  sick, 
wounded  and  well  were  stretched  from  all  sides  for  the 
Scriptures. 

.  Then  the  colporteur,  too,  was  drafted,  but  he  was  provi¬ 
dentially  given  a  place  as  a  nurse  and  has  had  unusual 
opportunities  to  be  a  witness  to  men  of  all  ranks  and 
nationalities  and  to  circulate  the  Word  of  God  among 
officers  and  privates. 

Women  and  the  War. 

Women  make  up  more  than  half  of  the  church  mem¬ 
bership  in  many  countries,  and  Bohemia  is  no  exception. 
We  often  wonder  if  women  are  not  the  greater  sufferers 
in  the  war.  Be  that  as  it  may,  no  account  of  Christian 
work  and  suffering  in  Austria  can  leave  out  women 


16 


There  is  Miss  J.  who  has  given  her  life  to  orphans  and 
neglected  children.  You  can  imagine  that  her  hands  are 
more  than  full.  The  day  of  miracles  has  not  passed. 
No,  indeed.  When  food  was  lacking  and  there  was  no 
help  in  view,  the  workers  and  the  orphans  cried  unto  the 
God  of  the  fatherless.  And  he  heard,  and  answered. 
A  whole  bag  of  wheat  was  sent  from  an  unexpected 
quarter.  Supplies  came  in  wonderful  ways.  Coal  was 
scarce  everywhere,  but  especially  in  the  villages.  A  whole 
load  was  sent  all  the  way  from  the  city  to  the  orphanage. 

Miss  V.,  a  convert  from  the  Jewish  faith,  is  another 
worker  in  the  orphanage.  When  the  Jewish  refugees 
from  Galicia  poured  into  Prague  and  the  surrounding 
towns  with  all  their  filth  and  microbes,  they  were  very 
unwelcome.  Miss  V.  befriended  them  and  devoted  much 
time  to  their  welfare;  found  them  employment,  circulated 
the  Scriptures  among  them  and  gathered  them  to  hear  the 
gospel  sung  and  preached. 

Mrs.  W.  has  worked  and  prayed  and  prayed  and  worked 
to  pay  the  debts  incurred  by  her  unworthy  husband  before 
he  left  her.  The  debts  are  all  paid ;  the  large  family  of 
children  clothed  and  fed,  and  last  winter  in  the  intense 
cold,  she  ministered  to  many  hungry  and  cold  soldiers. 
She  invited  them  to  her  humble  home  and  gave  them  hot 
soup  and  bread,  and  while  they  ate  and  drank,  she  sang 
tovthem  of  Jesus  and  told  them  of  the  Prince  of  Peace 
and  gave  them  gospels  and  tracts. 

Our  pastor’s  slender  wife  in  B.,  must,  in  her  husband’s 
absence  as  a  soldier,  .care  for  the  church,  do  the  calling, 

17 


and  occasionally  go  four  or  five  miles  on  foot  and  bring 
home  on  her  back  some  flour  to  eke  out  the  scanty  supply 
furnished  by  the  city.  Mrs.  M.,  another  pastor’s  wife, 
had  just  recovered  from  a  severe  illness  when  her  hus¬ 
band  was  drafted.  She  is  left  with  eight  small  children 
and  the  heavy  end  of  the  church  work.  Cheery  and 
bright  she  is  in  spite  of  all.  When  we  last  saw  her,  she 
was  just  leaving  for  Moravia  for  supplies.  The  round 
trip  would  require  twelve  hours  of  journey  by  train  and 
two  on  foot,  and  all  this  to  get  food  for  her  family,  to 
add  somewhat  to  the  all  too  little  forthcoming  in  the  city. 

Our  round  of  calls  brings  us  in  touch  with  families  of 
ours  who  are  living  in  wearing  uncertainty.  No  reliable 
news  has  come  from  a  father  or  husband  or  brother  for 
months.  Some  one  reports  that  he  saw  him  fall  in  battle. 
But  experience  teaches  that  such  news  is  to  be  taken  with 
caution.  “Is  he  dead?  Is  he  still  alive?”  They  wait 
and  wait.  They  start  with  hope  whenever  the  postman 
stops  at  their  door.  “No,  nothing.”  They  hope  on.  Our 
God  is  a  “God  of  all  comfort.” 

Foundations  Sure. 

The  foundations  of  all  mission  work  the  world  over,  are 
seemingly  tottering.  Have  we  spent  money  and  lives  in 
vain?  No;  the  war  is  deepening  and  broadening  these 
foundations  for  a  more  spiritual  structure,  and  the  same 
is  true  in  Austria. 

Before  the  war,  the  Bible  was  almost  the  one  book  in 
many  Christian  homes.  Our  people  usually  have  family 
prayers  twice,  if  not  thrice  daily.  But  the  war-experi- 


19 


ences  have  planted  their  feet  more  firmly  on  the  Word. 
Verses  often  read,  now  have  a  new  meaning.  A  handful 
of  soldiers  gathered  outside  some  barracks  or  behind  the 
lines  at  the  front,  meet  and  read  the  Testament  with  new 
faith.  The  foundations  have  deepened.  The  wife  and 
mother  at  home  has  through  her  tears  come  closer  to 
Christ.  The  old  Bohemian  fathers,  three  hundred  years 
ago,  left  all,  lands  and  estates,  and  with  their  Bibles  and 
hymn  books  went  into  exile  or  to  death  for  their  faith. 
Will  Bohemia  become  once  more  the  land  of  the  Book? 
Is  the  war  the  harbinger  of  better  days? 

The  foundations  are  only  seemingly  shaken.  Reports 
from  the  battlefields  confirm  this  statement.  A  careless 
backslider  was  rarely  in  church ;  was  cold  and  bitter. 
In  the  army  he  came  to  himself  and  back  to  God.  A 
soldier  returning  from  the  front  with  bandaged  head,  re¬ 
marked:  “Out  there,”  pointing  away  toward  the  Russian 
front,  “one  learns  to  prize  the  Bible.”  A  member  who 
had  given  us  concern  when  at  home,  wrote  in  a  new  vein 
from  a  place  of  great  danger.  Letters  from  the  front 
stimulated  our  faith  and  that  of  our  churches.  God  is 
building  better  than  we  know,  even  when  the  great  guns 
shake  the  hills. 

“Faith  of  our  fathers,  living  still 
In  spite  of  dungeon,  fire  and  sword.” 

War  drives  many  a  man  farther  from  God.  War,  also 
helps  bring  many  a  man  nearer  to  God.  Thousands  in 
Europe  are  reading  Bibles  today  that  would  have  spurned 
the  thought  before  the  war.  Scoffers,  before  the  war,  are 


20 


today  seekers  or  at  least  willing  listeners.  Soldiers  were 
coming  to  our  services,  who  understood  only  the  “Amen.” 
They  wanted  to  be  where  the  gospel  was  preached.  A 
young  man  went  to  the  army  a  Romanist.  He  had  never 
attended  the  gospel  services  near  his  home.  Someone 
sent  him  while  in  the  army,  a  Testament,  and  he  returned 
home  on  furlough  to  welcome  the  first  opportunity  to 
worship  with  the  people  of  God. 

Our  people  had  their  eyes  on  a  little  city  with  the  great 
desire  to  give  it  the  gospel.  All  efforts  seemed  unavail¬ 
ing.  Far  away  in  Hungary,  a  soldier  from  that  city  was 
convalescing.  As  he  went  one  day  in  the  garden  back  of 
the  hospital,  he  accosted  a  comrade  reading  a  Bible,  with, 
“What  are  you  reading?” 

“God’s  Word,”  was  the  answer. 

“I  would  like  to  read  it  too.” 

“All  right,  take  off  your  cap,  throw  that  cigarette  away. 
We  must  reverence  God’s  word.” 

This  was  the  beginning,  and  the  man  with  the  Bible 
led  his  comrade  to  Jesus.  Then  the  doors  were  wide 
open,  through  this  soldier,  for  the  gospel  to  enter  into  the 
city  so  long  closed.  These  are  but  illustrations  of  the  way 
the  Kingdom  is  coming  in  spite  of  war  and  through  the 
war.  We  are  sowing  in  tears ;  but  we  shall  reap  with  joy. 

Austria  in  America. 

Austria  is  debtor  to  America,  and  America  is  also  deep¬ 
ly  indebted  to  Austria.  The  two  countries  are  inseparably 
linked.  No  diplomatic  break  can  sever  the  ties  that  bind 


21 


the  people  of  these  so  diverse  countries  together.  Chil¬ 
dren  are  laborers  here ;  their  parents  are  across  the  sea, 
or  vice  versa.  Even  in  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  Bo- 
hemians  were  among  the  first  who  left  Chicago  to  do  ser¬ 
vice  for  our  country  under  the  name  of  “The  Lincoln 
Rifles and  hundreds  of  our  Bohemian  and  Slovek  Ameri¬ 
cans  are  now  in  training  to  fight  our  battles  for  us. 

Christian  Slavs,  too,  are  doing  valiant  service  in  our 
warfare  with  sin  and  infidelity,  as  well  as  anarchy  through¬ 
out  America.  Our  Northwest  has  a  progressive  Slavic 
worker  who  is  battling  for  better  schools  and  more  self- 
sacrificing  loyalty  in  his  section.  This,  aside  from  preach¬ 
ing  the  gospel  in  two  languages.  The  daughter  of  one  of 
our  pastors  in  Bohemia  wears  the  badge,  “Travellers’  Aid” 
at  one  of  our  great  western  railway  stations  in  America. 
She  ofifers  timely  aid  to  women  and  girls,  native  and  for¬ 
eign,  who  might  otherwise  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Red 
Light  district. 

One  of  the  most  wide-awake  evangelistic  churches,  in 
almost  our  largest  American  city,  is  Bohemian.  .  Around 
this  church  are  hotbeds  of  sin  and  ignorance,  anarchy  and 
infidelity,  mixed  with  throttling  superstition.  In  that 
church  are  many  awakened  and  converted  in  Bohemia.  A 
social  settlement  worker  in  a  godless  city  in  the  heart  of 
America,  hails  from  Bohemia.  Several  of  our  former 
workers  in  Bohemia  are  doing  valiant  service  in  the  coke 
regions  of  Pennsylvania.  The  “big  brother”  to  the  immi¬ 
grants  of  all  nationalities  in  a  great  manufacturing  city  of 
the  Lhiited  States  is  a  Christian  Bohemian. 


22 


Our  Christian  schools  for  training  young  women  to  work 
among  all  our  foreign-speaking  peoples  here  in  America 
are  ever  looking  to  our  churches  in  Bohemia  for  recruits. 
Here  and  there  all  over  America  are  workers  who 
look  over  the  seas  when  speaking  of  their  spiritual  birth¬ 
place.  The  work  among  the  five  million  Slavs  of  Ameri¬ 
ca  would  be  largely  at  a  standstill  were  it  not  for  the 
workers  who  have  come  from  Austria. 

China  has  a  missionary  trained  in  Bohemia.  Africa 
has  claimed  one  of  our  Prague  young  women.  South 
America  has  its  quota  from  the  churches  of  Bohemia,  and 
Canada  as  well.  Russia  and  Bulgaria  have  profited  from 
Bohemia. 

Bohemia  is  indeed,  a  little  country.  But  as  in  the  past, 
so  now,  streams  of  living  water  flow  thence  to  water  and 
refresh  many  a  parched  and  desolate  field,  the  wide  world 
around.  Bohemia  is  in  the  heart  of  Europe.  Bohemia 
is  fitted  by  location  as  well  as  by  language  and  race  to  be 
a  prime  factor  in  carrying  the  gospel  to  the  one  hundred 
and  fifty  million  of  Slavs  in  Europe,  Asia  and  America. 


23 


U>nme  Ammrait  Hoard  Publtratinna 


Missionary  Herald 

A  wide-awake,  illustrated,  modern  magazine.  Monthly,  75 
cents  per  year.  In  clubs  of  ten  or  more,  50  cents  each. 

Y ear  Book  of  Missions  for  1918 

Combines  two  publications  at  the  price  of  one.  The  Almanac 
of  Missions  and  the  Prayer  Calendar  under  one  cover.  Artistic, 
informing,  interesting.  Is  much  admired.  Price  ten  cents;  by 
mail,  twelve  cents. 

Envelope  Series 

A  quarterly  issue  of  handy  size;  each  number  contains  a  fresh 
interesting  article  on  some  aspect  of  the  foreign  missionary  world. 
Usually  illustrated.  Price  ten  cents  a  year. 

Maps  of  the  Missions 

In  booklet  form;  four  color  maps  of  all  the  Board’s  missions, 
with  location  of  mission  stations  indicated.  Up-to-date;  in¬ 
valuable  for  reference.  Price,  fifteen  cents. 

Story  of  the  American  Board 

By  Secretary  William  E.  Strong.  An  account  of  the  Board’s 
first  hundred  years.  Three  editions :  Library,  $1.75 ;  Popular, 
$1.00;  Paper  Cover  (without  map),  50  cents. 


Literature  and  Leaflets  of  the  American  Board  may  be 

had  by  addressing: 

John  G.  Hosmer,  Congregational  House,  14  Beacon  St., 

Boston,  Mass. 


Or  at  the  District  offices: 

Rev.  Edward  Lincoln  Smith,  D.  D.,  4th  Avenue  and 
22nd  St.,  New  York  City. 

Rev.  A.  N.  Hitchcock,  D.  D.,  19  So.  La  Salle  Street, 

Chicago,  Ill. 

Rev.  H.  H.  Kelsey,  D.  D.,  417  Market  Street, 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 


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of  world  situations :  its  stores  of  im¬ 
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